The Prime Suspect in Motorway Rape Case Abid Malhi Arrested

from Faisalabad.

The prime suspect in the motorway rape case Abid Malhi has been arrested from
Faisalabad police said on Monday adding that Abid is being brought to Lahore from
Faisalabad where his DNA test will be taken. The arrest comes a little over a month after
the incident that had sparked outrage across the country. The development was
confirmed in a tweet by prime minister’s special assistant Shahbaz Gill who said that suspects
will be punished according to law. The news was welcomed by President Arif Alvi who
termed the arrest a matter of national relief. In a tweet, the president said an efficient trial of
the accused and the severest exemplary punishment possible under the law must be given to
all those found guilty.  

Last month two robbers on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway had gang-raped a mother of
two. One of the accused was arrested by the Punjab police but the main accused was on
the run. The other suspect who allegedly raped the woman, Shafqat, is in jail on judicial
remand. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) Special Branch of police and other agencies had done
a recce of the suspect and tipped off Punjab Police about the whereabouts of Malhi before
they went to Faisalabad to apprehend him. Malhi’s DNA test had been obtained thrice from
the motorway rape victim’s samples. However, his DNA test will be taken again and matched
with the samples from the motorway rape victims before any formal proceedings against him
are started. The motorway rape case’s prime suspect had managed to evade arrest four times
by escaping the clutches of the Punjab police ever since he has been on the run. 

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Reports said a trap had been laid out for the motorway rape prime suspect, falling into which
he was apprehended by police. Sources said Malhi’s wife was taken to Faisalabad by police
after the suspect told her during a phone call that he would meet her there. When Malhi
arrived in the city to meet her, he was nabbed by police officials in plain clothes. Speaking to
a private TV channel, Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz Chohan said that the provincial
government would do everything in its power to make an example out of the motorway rape
suspect. He said that without speaking to the motorway rape victim, the Punjab government
had managed to identify the suspects within 72 hours. Chohan asked of the case.

Due to the media’s hype regarding the case, Malhi was able to receive reports about police
looking for him and he managed to escaped police raids four to five times as he used to get
information from his sources about the police, said the information minister. Chohan said that
the Punjab police had “intentionally cooled down things” over the things and observed that
Malhi had also relaxed over the past 10-12 days which ultimately led him to become less
careful. He said that to hide details of the investigation from the public at large, he used to
intentionally play down questions asked to him about the motorway gang-rape case during
press conferences.